


Phobos in a Shell

by Honse



Category: TWRP | Tupper Ware Remix Party (Band)
Genre: A silly idea that I had and then took really far I hope you enjoy UwU, Action/Adventure, And some humour (as a treat), Bodyswap, But oh now what happens?? read ya nerd!, Friendship, Future Technology, Gen, I hope you have a nice day, Just some bros being best friends, Kind of?? idk how to describe it lmao, Light Groove Crusader lore, Long One Shot, Mentions of Phobos' backstory, Mentions of working through trauma/healing, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Origin Story, Original Facecanon for Phobos, Origins for Phobos II, Outer Space, Phobos goes on a cool rescue mission, Phobos speaks sign language, Robots, Science Fiction, Some lore based on Phobos Livestreams, Swearing, This is a non-shipping zone/non-shipping fic, mentions of past trauma, mentions of smoking, original backstory, stupid mug stuff has inspired me to write an even stupider fic aahhhH, vow of silence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:35:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28062519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honse/pseuds/Honse
Summary: Lord Phobos takes his duty as a Groove Crusader seriously, and jets off by himself on an important rescue mission. But ever since Phobos returned, something’s been off about him. The other members of TWRP don’t know if they can trust their old friend anymore.The origin story of Phobos II.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Phobos in a Shell

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Friends! So ever since Phobos began his Livestreams- er, I mean Podcasts, I’ve been fascinated by the literal Cinematic Universe he has created. It’s so funny to me the direction he’s taken his streams in. But the one thing that really makes me laugh is his ongoing feud with a previous version of himself (don’t even get me started on the constantly changing lore). So I began thinking, how did Phobos become Phobos II? Why is he now a robot? Was he always a robot? I began to theorize, but I realized that after watching these streams basically everything I thought of painted Phobos I as a bully or a villain and I didn’t want to taint the memory of our Red and Golden friend like that! So after a lot of theorizing, I came up with this idea that I compiled into a LONG Oneshot! It's a bit self-indulgent and rambly at times, but I did enjoy writing it! Hope you Enjoy xoxo Honse

Another day, another show where TWRP dazzled the crowd with their musical prowess. It was the last show of a successful tour and the boys were all eager to return home. They finished packing up the last of their gear, but they didn't return to their tour bus. Instead, they called to their spacecraft that had been left in an inconspicuous area, waiting for their return. After months of hectic touring, it was always nice to take a break and return to normal life. Well, as normal as life could be for four interdimensional aliens. Once aboard, they could shed their stage gear and put on more comfortable clothes before heading to the ship's cockpit to take off.

"Ready to take off, boys?" Sung said, taking his seat in the captain's chair. Phobos and Havve, assuming their positions, both offered a thumbs up.

"Let's fuckin' rip it, I can't wait to take a break. Touring's really got me beat." Meouch said as he took his seat, his slight delay most likely due to taking a short smoke break. With all four members in place, Sung started the ship's ignition and took off into the skies. The cloaking device made sure that they wouldn't draw the attention of any curious humans, they'd rather not end up on the front page of a conspiracy forum as the latest UFO sighting. Travelling by spaceship was much faster than by bus. They couldn't wait to return to their base, a secluded home in the Canadian wilderness. It was much easier to store their ships and strange alien technology there, and the peace and quiet meant they didn't have to worry about any disguises or being too loud. The leaves on the trees rustled as they pulled their ship down, and as they approached the large hangar where they stored their ships, the roof began to open itself up allowing the ship to gently and safely lower itself to the ground. Eager to be home, everyone piled out of the ship. Havve and Meouch agreed to bring their gear in while Sung and Phobos headed inside.

"Phobos, wanna put the coffee on? I'll check the messages." Sung said. His silent bandmate signed "okay" and headed into the kitchen. But as soon as Sung set foot inside he heard the familiar tapping of his furry friend's claws on the wooden floor. Rufus came bounding down the stairs, yapping in excitement and running circles around Sung.

"Gooby!" Sung exclaimed, leaning in to give his precious pet some well-deserved head pats. "I missed you, buddy! Guess we should probably go for a walk before I do anything else, huh?"

"Don't worry about it, Doc," Meouch said as he and Havve brought in the last of their gear. "You take care of Goob, I'll check if we got any important messages." Sung grinned at his friend as he turned to grab a leash and clipped it onto Rufus.

"We won't be long!" Sung said as he headed out the door.

A screen by the door was lit up, indicating they had several messages left there. These messages could be from anywhere in the galaxy. While a lot of them were just general spam, flyers, or advertisements for bizarre alien products, some of them were messages seeking help. While it happened less and less due to their busy touring schedule, TWRP took their duty as Groove Crusaders very seriously and wanted to help as many people as they possibly could. 

The coffee maker clicked off and Lord Phobos poured himself a cup. He drank his blonde roast coffee black, wanting as much caffeine as possible. He was dead tired after the last show, so he really needed it. He poured a cup for Meouch as well and figured he'd keep the pot warm for Sung when he returned. He brought Meouch his mug, one that Havve had gifted him a few years ago. It was covered in largemouth bass jumping through the water. He ordered the first result after searching "bass mug," and Meouch loved it despite the mix-up. Since then they've acquired a collection of goofy mugs that they gift to each other each year.

"Thanks, bud," Meouch said, taking a sip. "nothing important yet, just a shit ton of spam as usual," he said as he scrolled to the next message. The screen lit up with an urgent call to arms. "Oh shit," Meouch exclaimed. "We got one!" Phobos turned to read the screen, and Havve came down the stairs at the call to read it as well.

The message read:

_URGENT HELP NEEDED_

_OUR SHIP HAS BROKEN DOWN AND IS STRANDED_

_WE ARE SLOWLY DRIFTING TOWARDS A BLACK HOLE, WE HAVE AN ESTIMATE OF 4 DAYS BEFORE IT CONSUMES OUR SHIP_

_OUR COORDINATES ARE 8503.21/5746.90/0038.78_

_PLEASE SEND HELP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, YOU ARE OUR LAST HOPE_

An air of distress fell over the boys as they read the message. Phobos turned to his friends and signed,

" _We've got to help them."_ Havve and Meouch both nodded. At that moment, Sung opened the door and clipped the leash off of Rufus who bounded up the stairs. "What's up, guys? Any coffee left?"

"We got an important mission, Doc." Meouch gestured to the screen.

"Oh shit," he said as he scanned over the message. "We gotta help, no doubt. And we gotta do it fast. This is a simple mission, we just need to bring some fuel, do some repairs, and probably tow the ship away from danger. It shouldn't need the four of us, and any one of us can easily handle it."

" _I can do it._ " Phobos signed to his friends.

"You sure, Phibs? Won't not talking kinda cause an issue if they can't read sign? I'll gladly take the job." Meouch added.

Tapping away at his phone, everyone turned to Havve as he spoke through text to speech.

" _WE ALL KNOW THE QUALITY OF YOUR REPAIRS MEOUCH, AND I DON'T THINK THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT DUCK TAPE CAN SOLVE."_ The electronic voice spoke.

"Yeah, he's got a point dude," Sung said, skeptical of Meouch's finesse when it came to repairs.

"Okay, that was only one time!" Meouch snapped back, but the expressions on his friends' faces told him they didn't buy it. "Okay, yeah whatever I get your point." He grumbled.

" _My ship has a built-in translation device, it can communicate my signs into speech."_ Phobos signed. " _Plus my ship is the fastest, I'll have the best chance of getting there in time. And I'm sure I'll be able to handle any repairs they throw my way."_

Sung nodded, "You've got a good point Phobos, I think this mission is for you. Suit up, I'll send the coordinates to your ship." Phobos flashed a quick thumbs-up before heading out the door. Good thing he kept a spare set of armour in his ship. He hurried to the hangar, thinking to himself that he'd barely had any time to unwind before jetting off again. But that was part of the life he had agreed to when he joined TWRP and became a Groove Crusader.

Phobos' ship was red and golden, resembling his signature ensemble. It was the smallest of all of their ships due to its sleek design, but it was the fastest one they had and was deceptively powerful. He climbed aboard and took a seat at the controls as the lights flickered on. Sung had sent the coordinates right to his navigation system, so he set a course to take the most direct path possible. With his ship's speed, he should be able to make it in time. He turned the ignition and pressed a button to remotely open the hangar doors. The engine began to roar, and Phobos took the controls to pull up and out of the hangar. Now he had to begin the tricky task of escaping earth's orbit. Even for a ship as powerful as his, it took an experienced pilot. Luckily, Phobos had a few hundred years' worth of experience under his belt. He pulled up the nose of his ship to a vertical position and revved the engine. Then, he slammed the throttle and the ship soared off. Out of the corner of one of his eyes, he quickly glanced at the speedometer. 40,000 kilometres per hour on the dot. Perfect, he thought. He kept steady at the controls, and within a few minutes, he had escaped orbit. He pulled back on the throttle and turned on autopilot. His ship could handle the easy part of the journey by itself while he geared up.

Phobos headed to the back room of his ship. For a while, it had been his only home after the fall of his planet. The small bed he had thrown together still sat in the corner, where he had spent many nights in silent solitude. A small chest sat at the foot of his bed where he kept the few keepsakes he had to remember his homeworld by. These days he preferred to keep it closed. It wasn't easy, but Doctor Sung helped him work through his trauma, and he even made peace with Commander Meouch eventually. He kept his vow of silence as a way to honour his people and was finally able to attain a sense of closure. When he returned to his ship, he was no longer filled with a cloud of mourning, but rather a hope that he could honour his fallen people. He now used his ship for different purposes. Sometimes it was his refuge when he needed a moment of peace, and sometimes he'd use it to practice since the acoustics were surprisingly good. But mostly, it was used by his friends as storage for whatever junk they didn't have a place for. Currently, Sung was keeping some in-progress experiments and prototypes in various corners of his backroom. Phobos didn't mind, it wasn't like he used his ship as much these days.

He opened up a locker that was bolted to the wall of the ship. Inside he had a fresh set of armour. He pulled on his red suit and secured his belt around his hips. He equipped the last of his armour, minus his jetpack which he figured he'd only need to equip if he had to fly out alone to meet the ship. As he pulled down his helmet from the top shelf, he caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror placed at the back of the locker. It hadn't occurred to him how tired he was until he saw his face. His shaggy blonde and red hair was a mess, he hadn't gotten a chance to brush it since getting offstage. He had bags under most of his eyes. He wasn't in peak shape, to say the least, but he knew he had to pull it together. Lives were at risk, and he had to save them. He securely fastened his helmet and returned to the cockpit. He turned off the autopilot, then pushed the throttle a bit further. There was about an hour left in the journey according to the navigation system, but a bit more speed should get him there even quicker. Time was of the essence, and he could take it from here.

* * *

Lord Phobos was navigating around an asteroid belt as he approached the coordinates. He could see on his screen that there was a black hole nearby but didn't see any other ships. Was he too late? As he turned around the last corner of the asteroid belt, he finally saw a ship in the distance. It was in rough shape and was idling in space, and Phobos could see that it was being pulled very slowly towards the black hole. As he hurried to pull his ship closer he activated his telecommunication transmitter. It was able to translate his sign language, and once the other ship was in range it should be able to broadcast it directly to them. Lord Phobos approached and began to sign his message.

" _HELLO, I AM LORD PHOBOS OF TUPPERWARE REMIX PARTY. WE RECEIVED YOUR DISTRESS CALL AND I AM HERE TO ASSIST. I HAVE BROUGHT FUEL AS WELL AS TOOLS AND MATERIALS FOR REPAIRS TO GET YOUR SHIP IN WORKING ORDER. IF THERE IS ANY LIFE ONBOARD, PLEASE RESPOND SO I CAN ASSIST IN WHATEVER YOU NEED."_ The robotic voice rang out, and Phobos hoped that someone on board the other ship would be able to hear it. He saw a few lights flashing inside, then a weak voice came over his ship's intercom.

"Hello? Lord Phobos? Thank you, we haven't got much time left. We saved our last bit of emergency power to send this message, we haven't had heat or food for days and I fear we may soon perish. Please, may we board your ship while you conduct repairs, the warmth would be so comforting." The voice was quiet and frail, struggling to finish each sentence.

" _OF COURSE, YOU MAY BOARD MY SHIP AND REST. I WILL CONDUCT THE REPAIRS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE SO YOU MAY RETURN ON YOUR WAY."_

"Oh thank you, Lord Phobos! We just knew that you and TWRP would be our saviours. The bay door is on the starboard side. Can we connect to your airlock to safely come aboard?" The weak voice was filled with a sudden optimism that made Phobos smile. He replied,

" _OF COURSE, I WILL CONNECT IMMEDIATELY. I MUST END THE TRANSMISSION NOW, BUT REST ASSURED I AM HERE TO HELP."_ Phobos turned off his transmitter and pulled his ship up as close to the stranded ship's airlock. With the push of a button, his ship's airlock extended and connected to theirs. After a few brief seconds of decompression, the two ships were securely connected. Phobos walked up to the ship's bay door and opened it with the push of a button. The ship hissed as the pressure adjusted. But as the doors opened, Phobos was a bit confused at what he saw standing at the end of the airlock, 

All the transmissions had said "we," but Phobos only saw one figure in front of him. The figure was tall, slender, and wearing dishevelled clothes with a hood covering the upper part of their face They stood upright and had a slight grin on their face that oddly concerned Phobos. He couldn't explain it, but the calmness on their face was off-putting to him. Phobos gave a little wave and began to sign.

" _Hello, I am Lord Phobos. I cannot speak, are you able to understand sign language?"_ But as he finished his sentence, the figure took a step forward and collapsed. In a panic, Phobos rushed forward to help. But he did not anticipate what happened next.

Phobos kneeled down and supported the stranger's neck, putting his hand under their head to support it. The hood had fallen back and Phobos' heart skipped a beat as he saw the expression on their face. They had a crazed look in their eyes and their mouth twisted into a devious grin. They placed a hand on Phobos' chest.

"Sorry about this friend, I hope there are no hard feelings." Then, Phobos felt something he had never felt before. In an instant, he felt himself fly backwards as if he had been pushed at full force. But in front of him, he saw the cloaked figure disintegrate into a pile of dust. And then, he saw his own body. He saw his own body stand up and brush the dust off of his sleeves. Looking down at his hands, he was translucent and rapidly fading into nothingness. As his body got up and walked into the ship, Phobos felt his consciousness slipping away. Was this the end of him? He'd die floating in space as an incorporeal ghost? Before he even had a chance to accept his fate, his eyes closed and the world went black around him.

* * *

Much to his surprise, Phobos woke up. He was awoken suddenly when he felt himself fall onto the floor. He wasn't sure how long it had been, but he distinctly felt a feeling of a spaceship jerking to the side as it swerved. As he fell, he heard a loud metallic clang that caught him off guard. He looked down at his hands. He wasn't met with the usual teal and pink patterns of his calico skin. The hands he saw were not his own, but rather some kind of robotic skeleton. He jumped back in shock and reached up to touch his face. He couldn't feel anything, but his hands made a metallic clinking sound as they made contact. He tried to stand up, it was harder than expected. He eventually gained some semblance of balance and stood up. He was in the backroom of his ship, no doubt about it, but he wasn't sure about how he got there, or even who he was anymore. He stumbled towards his locker; the rocky piloting of his ship didn't make walking any easier for him. Opening it up, he saw his reflection in the mirror.

As he had feared, he wasn't in his own body. Sung had been storing a few different robotic prototypes in Phobos' ship. Some of them would hopefully become stagehands who could help out during tours, others were prototypes of new additions or repairs that he could use on Havve in case anything in him broke beyond repair. For some reason, Phobos looked in the mirror and saw one of those robot prototypes looking back at him. On his head was another prototype, one of a new helmet Sung was designing for him. Phobos stared at his reflection in complete shock. He tried to touch his helmet, but he had no sense of touch through his metallic fingers. He was lost for words, Phobos had no clue what to do. Then, he noticed his phone screen lit up at the bottom of his locker. He picked it up and saw messages from Sung.

" _Hey, how'd it go?"_

_"Let us know when you've finished the job and are on your way back. You've got this!"_

_"I see that you've set a course home, did everything go well?"_

He tried to open his phone, if he could reply to the messages he could tell his friends that something had gone terribly wrong. But the screen would not respond to his touch at all. Never once did Phobos think he'd wish that he still had a flip phone. He threw his phone down onto the pile of his clothes that sat at the bottom of his locker. He needed to figure this out, he needed to get his body back. He tried to take a deep breath to calm his nerve. But he realized he had no lungs, and found himself even more frustrated.

Phobos tried to focus and figure out what had happened to him. His people were nobles and scholars and always prided themselves on a keen sense of deduction and reasoning. It's what had propelled them to such academic success. The last thing he remembered was that creature, the person he thought he was there to save. They pressed their hand on Phobos' chest and sent him flying like he was ejected from his own body, but then he saw his own body continue to move. Whatever that person was, they must have some kind of ability to possess a host body, and when Phobos was ripped out of his body, he must have been absorbed by Sung's robotic prototype by some lucky miracle. Satisfied with his deduction, Phobos moved on to the second step of his plan, which was to figure out a second step. His head was still reeling from the shock and he was having a hard time thinking straight. He figured it would be best to investigate and see what this cruel invader was doing.

Phobos tried to make his way carefully and through his ship, taking small and quiet steps while leaning against the wall for support. He wanted to minimize the sound of his metal feet crashing against the floor. He passed by a porthole and got a look outside into the expanse of space. He could see the earth fast approaching. He continued till he could get a careful look at the cockpit. Sure enough, he saw his own body piloting the ship. He saw his red suit and golden armour, and his helmet thrown onto the floor with little regard. He saw the back of his head, with his long ears poking out of his still messy hair. And in the window, he caught a glimpse of his reflection. He saw the distinct colour of his skin, his freckles, his eyes. He didn't know what to feel in that moment, watching someone else inhabiting the body he knew was his. He was filled with a rage he had not felt in many years.

He thought about rushing forward and trying to fight, but looking at the condition of his prototype skeleton, he doubted he could win. Through the front windshield, he saw that Earth was fast approaching and within minutes they'd begin to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. The ship shook as it flew closer and closer, it was clear that this person was not familiar with a ship like Phobos', and he hoped that they were at least skilled enough to not burn up upon re-entry. He returned to the backroom, figuring his best bet at the moment was to secure himself to a seat and brace himself for what he was sure would be a rocky landing.

Sure enough, re-entry was a rough journey. Phobos clung to the seat as hard as his metallic fingers would let him. If his ship weren't such advanced future tech, they likely wouldn't have survived. But the ship managed to slow down enough that even an inexperienced pilot could return safely into Earth's atmosphere. Phobos stayed hidden in the back as he felt the ship begin to descend, sure that they were landing back at home base. But he didn't hear the sound of the hangar doors opening, but rather the scraping and snapping of tree branches caught between his ship. Finally, the ship came to a stop as they roughly hit the ground. Phobos heard the bay door opens and footsteps making their way out of the ship. He was home, but now he just had to confront this parasite and hope that his friends wouldn't fall for any ruse they tried to pull. He looked down at his fingers. They moved in a clunky fashion, Phobos could barely form any coherent signs. He'd have to figure out another way to communicate with his friends.

* * *

All was calm in the TWRP house as they finally finished settling in post-tour. Sung had a chance to shower, then helped Havve with a few minor repairs he had from the strenuous life on the road. Meouch took the opportunity to take a well-deserved cat nap on the back patio. It was a warm sunny day, and he couldn't resist his instinct to stretch out on the patio bench. Sung was a bit concerned that he hadn't heard anything from Phobos. He received a notice that he had input the coordinates to return home, which calmed him knowing his friend was safe and on his way home. He assumed he just hadn't gotten a chance to check his phone. Everyone had gathered into the living room, they wanted to catch up on some new episodes of their favourite shows that they couldn't watch during the tour. As much as they loved watching _Naked and Afraid_ and _My Cat from Hell_ in hotel rooms, it was time to mix things up a bit. Sung felt a little bit bad for starting without Phobos and hoped he wouldn't mind. But not long after they had started, they heard the distinct sounds of rocket thrusters' approach.

"That must be Phobos," Meouch said. "I mean, duh, not like there's many other spacecrafts flying around here." But as soon as he finished his sentence, they heard the concerning sound of tree branches snapping as they scraped against metal in a deafening screech.

"What the hell is that?" Sung was confused and immediately concerned. Havve was the first up to investigate and the others followed not long after. Outside, they saw Phobos' ship, not parked in the hangar where they all kept their spacecrafts, but rather landed haphazardly on the lawn. This was concerning to all of them, and Sung hoped that Phobos hadn't be injured while out on the mission.

They saw Phobos emergy from the ship, helmet in hand. There was no mistake that it was Phobos, they'd always recognize his distinct appearance.

"Hey Phobos, how did it go?" Sung asked as his friend approached. But what they heard next shocked the three of them.

"Hey guys, glad to be back," Phobos spoke in a rough, gravelly voice. He hadn't used his vocal cords in over a decade and it showed through his voice. Sung, Meouch, and Havve were stunned into silence, they had never heard their friend break his vow of silence. "What's up? Why do you all look so shocked?" Phobos spoke again, clearing his throat slightly.

"We uh... We've never, well.. you've never spoken to us before, bud." Sung said.

"You know, your vow of silence and everything. Did something change while you were up there?" Meouch asked.

As Phobos finally reached the porch where the others stood, Sung noticed something else strange about his friend. The five yellowish-green eyes that made Phobos so recognizable were not his only eyes. He had only seen them a few times, but Phobos had an additional four eyes that sat above the others, often covered by his hair and almost always closed. Phobos had explained to his friends that his people would only use their enhanced vision when it was most needed, in serious life or death situations. When Sung had first met Phobos and Meouch, the day he had to pry them apart before one killed the other, he remembered seeing those eyes, with dark black scleras and red pupils burning with rage. As Phobos stood before his friends, those four eyes were wide open.

"Oh, that? Yeah, I figured there was no more need for it." Phobos smiled and laughed, trying to convince his friends despite their growing concern showing. Meouch in particular looked concerned at that response.

"Dude, didn't you keep that vow to honour your people? After.. you know, that stuff?" Meouch tried to skate around the obvious elephant in the room, but Phobos seemed to be caught a bit off guard and laughed again, this time a nervous chuckle.

"Oh yeah, well you know. Let bygones be bygones and stuff like that." His voice was still gravelly and hard to understand. Sung knew something was up, he turned and looked at Havve to communicate with him through their neural link. _"Something is up."_ Sung sent Havve the telepathic message.

" _I don't think that's Phobos. Something happened up there."_ Havve said back.

" _It clearly LOOKS like Phobos, but he isn't acting right. We gotta get to the bottom of this._ " Phobos took a step forward and pushed past his friends.

"I'm parched after that trip, I'm gonna go grab a glass of water." Phobos walked inside, and Sung noticed how he looked around first as if he didn't remember where the kitchen was. Sung and Havve both glanced back at Meouch, who shared their look of concern.

"Something's up, right? It's not just me?" Meouch whispered under his breath. The other two nodded. "I've got an idea, just follow my lead, okay?" Meouch then turned inside, trailed by his friends.

Once inside, they saw Phobos fumbling around through the cabinets.

"Forgot where the cups are, eh bud?" Meouch said as he walked up behind him and opened the correct cupboard.

"Oh, heh yeah I guess I did. Thanks, Meouch." Phobos said, grabbing a glass and proceeding to fill it from the tap.

Meouch stood to his left and Havve and Sung followed around to his other side.

"So Phibs, how was the mission? Everything went well?" Meouch asked, holding back from becoming fully confrontational all at once.

"Everything went fine! Everything was fixed with no problem, and they happily returned on their way. Good thing I got there just in time, huh?" Phobos took a long sip of water.

"You must be tired though," Sung jumped in. "You didn't' get much time to rest when we got home!"

"Oh, I'm feeling fine. A quick nap was all I needed to be in tip-top shape!" he said with a smile. The boys all looked back at each other. They knew they were on the right track, but they needed further proof that this wasn't really their friend. They needed a smoking gun. Havve tapped furiously at his phone to further question Phobos.

" _YOU DIDN'T TAKE A NAP THOUGH. ONCE WE GOT HOME YOU MADE COFFEE FOR MEOUCH AND SONG, RIGHT?"_ Noticing his typo, Havve tapped again. " _I MEAN SNUG."_ He glared and whirred angrily, nearly cracking his phone screen as he typed. "I MEAN SUNG GOD FUCKING DAMNIT YOU PIECE OF SHIT PHONE." Sung put his hand on Havve's shoulder, urging him to calm down.

"Oh, uh... I meant on my ship." His gruff voice stuttered, clearly caught off guard by the question. "I took a quick nap with the ship on autopilot so I could be ready for the mission! What's the matter guys, you seem tense?"

"Oh, I think we're just worried that something happened, like you lost some memories or something," Meouch said, his voice filled with distrust.

"Did you hit your head maybe?" Sung asked.

"Oh, uh, I don't think so? But maybe if I did I forgot it..." he was scrambling, trying as hard as he could to save face.

"I'm gonna ask you one question, Phobos." Meouch got closer to Phobos. He tried to back away but Sung and Havve cornered him at the other side. Havve's hand reached for the knife block on the counter but Sung grabbed his hand and stopped him in his tracks. 

"I'm only gonna ask you this one question. Something that when I told you the first time, you laughed and laughed and said you'd never forget. What's my first name?" Meouch asked. Phobos froze, all of his eyes growing wide in shock. Meouch got closer and grabbed him by the collar. "What's my first name, Phobos?" A low growl entered Meouch's voice as he spoke.

"Oh, uh, of course. Of course, I know your name. How could I ever forget it? It's uh... Me... Mar... Car... Cat.." He began forming random vowel sounds, watching the reactions on everyone's faces to see if he was close. "Cat... Cats... Cuh, uh, Catpurnicus? Yeah, that's it, right?" Meouch's face filled with rage.

"I fuckin' knew it, you're not Phobos!" He pinned the imposter against the counter and raised his fist. Before he could strike, Sung intervened.

"Cut it out Meouch, punching isn't gonna get us to the bottom of this. But if you don't tell us what you did with Phobos, we'll just have to let Havve handle this." Havve wrung his hands and stared down the imposter, whose face was instantly filled with fear as Havve drew one of his fingers across his throat.

Just then, the doors to their house flung open. The boys turned to see who was intruding now as if the day had not already been confusing enough. The fake Phobos tried to use this distraction to make his escape, but Meouch only tightened his grip. In rushed a robotic being, or at least the rough skeleton of one, wearing a red and gold helmet. Meouch, Sung, and Havve could only stare in confusion and the robot tried to form some sign with its hands, seemingly frustrated at the lack of control and dexterity it had. Sung recognized his prototypes but couldn't fathom how they had started to move like that.

"What's going on, what the fuck is that now?" Meouch growled, frustrated by the growing chaos. 

It began to click in Sung's head. "Wait, I left those prototypes stored in Phobos' ship..." Before Sung could finish his thought, the robot fiddled with some device at its neck, then produced a familiar vocoded sound.

" _Wait guys, it's me! Don't listen to anything he says, I'm Phobos. I can explain everything."_ The room went silent with shock as the three of them looked between what used to be their bandmate and a sentient robotic prototype.

Havve broke the silence as he typed another message out onto his phone.

" _WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS GOING ON."_

The imposter Phobos struggled, even more, to break free, but Meouch kept a strong grip on him.

"Phobos, is that really you?" Sung said, getting closer to the robotic figure.

" _It's me, Doc. I can explain everything. They took over my body somehow. I don't know, but I went to rescue them and... They just push me back and I blacked out. The last thing I saw was my body standing back up and walking away as I floated back. When I woke up, I was in this body."_ The monotone vocoded voice couldn't portray any emotion, but Sung could sense the intense feelings, nonetheless. They all sat in tense silence for a moment, before Meouch pounced back onto the imposter Phobos.

"Is that true, you motherfucker? Did you call him all the way out there just to steal his fucking body? You better get out of there right quick, or else..." Meouch pushed him towards Havve, who was more than delighted to lift him up by the scruff. The imposter could only stare in terror as they felt the burning red gaze of the cyborg. Havve grabbed a knife from the counter and held it up. He looked to Sung who gestured at him as if to say _Not Yet._ He held back all of his murderous impulses, and the imposter could only writhe in terror.

"You're not gonna want me to give it back..." They coughed, barely being able to speak as Havve gripped them tightly. "I have to possess a new body to keep on living. As time passes, the bodies deteriorate. But as soon as I leave for a new host, poof. The old one turns to dust, just like that." They had a strangely calm look on their face despite the circumstance.

"You're bluffing, I don't believe it!" Meouch snarled with anger.

" _Stop, I saw it!_ " Phobos interjected. " _Right as they pushed me out of my own body, I saw the previous one just... vanish, it was gone in a second._ " Sung put a hand on Phobos' cold, metallic shoulder as a gesture of comfort.

"See, I could take over any one of you right now. And when I do, this body is a goner. I could wipe you all out right now if I wanted to." They coughed again, but Havve gripped even tighter.

"Why did you do this?" Sung asked. "Why call for help just to do this?"

"My old body was about to quit on me so I needed a ticket to Earth. Plus figured it might be fun to be a Rockstar for a little bit." They sneered as they looked down at Phobos who clenched his fists in anger. "Now if you don't put me down, I'll turn this body to ash. And you'll be next, Cat guy." They could barely finish their sentence as Havve held them tightly. Sung gestured to Havve to put them down, and he begrudgingly complied while still keeping his grip on the knife.

"Here's what's gonna happen," They took a deep breath as Havve put them down. "I'm going to leave, and you're not following me. If I see any one of you on my tail, this body is done for and you'll be next. Got it? I won't hesitate to disintegrate every last one of you." They looked Meouch in the eyes as he tried to hold back his rage and a torrent of swear words. Meouch then looked to Sung, who had a look of defeat on his face.

"Fine. Get out of here. I never want to see you again, you stupid piece of shit. Just go." Meouch got out of the way as the imposter walked away freely.

"Pleasure doing business with you, fellas. I'll make sure to drop you a line when I need a new body. Oh, and make sure to address any correspondence to 'Lord Phobos.' That's my name now of course, isn't it?" Their face twisted back into the devilish grin Phobos had seen moments before losing control of his body. They picked up the worn-down golden helmet and walked out the door. As the door clicked shut, the boys huddled around their friend.

"So that was a lot to take in..." Doctor Sung said to break the tension.

" _I feel like I royally screwed up, guys. I don't know what we're gonna do. I can barely walk, I feel like this body is gonna fall apart any second, and I doubt I can even play the guitar anymore."_ Phobos held his head in his hands. " _I don't have anything anymore. I don't have my vow, I don't have my body or my skills. I don't even think I'm myself. I'm not Lord Phobos anymore, I'm just some screw up stuck in a robot's body."_

 _"_ Don't put this on yourself, how the fuck could any of us have known? You were just trying to help and that's what you did." Meouch tried to console his friend.

"I built this robotic prototype, and for one thing I'm shocked that it's able to hold a consciousness. But more importantly, I know how to fix it up. I can get you up and running before you know it, and you'll be stronger than ever before. You just gotta trust me!" Sung reassured him.

" _IF ANYONE CAN FIX YOU UP, IT'S DOCTOR SUNG. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE DID TO ME. I WAS JUST A PILE OF SCRAPS BEFORE HE CAME ALONG. HE'S GOT YOUR BACK IN THIS."_ Havve Hogan added.

" _I guess you're right, but robot body aside I've lost the last connection I had to my home planet. I was the last of my race, I tried to honour that legacy every day. And now that's gone."_ Phobos tried to instinctively wipe a tear from his eye, but his hand was met only with the cold metal of his helmet. Meouch put his arm around Phobos' shoulders in an attempt to comfort him, as well as himself. He still felt immense guilt for what happened to Phobos' planet. He knew they had buried the hatchet and Phobos didn't hold a grudge, but he still couldn't escape the guilt.

"It doesn't matter what body you're in, you're still Lord Fucking Phobos. Look at everything you've done in your life, look at what you've accomplished, not just with us but on your own. You're honouring their legacy just by getting out of bed every morning and giving it your all." Meouch said.

Phobos paused, then spoke again. " _If I was able to smile, I would right now. This is a lot to adjust to, but I think... I think I can do this."_ His friends smiled as Phobos began to accept his situation.

" _BEING A ROBOT ISN'T ALL THAT BAD, TRUST ME,"_ Havve added as he typed away at his phone. " _I MEAN I'M A CYBORG BUT STILL, SAME DIFFERENCE. IT TAKES SOME GETTING USED TO FOR SURE. BUT HAVING TO EAT AND STUFF LIKE THAT IS PRETTY DOPE."_

"It'll be like a fresh new start! Once you're fixed up, you'll be the new and improved Phobos." Sung said, a gleam in his eye. Phobos seemed reassured at the insinuation.

" _YOU'RE LIKE PHOBOS 2.0. MORE BADASS THAN EVER BEFORE."_

" _Heh, I like that. Phobos 2.0... Maybe that's what I'll call myself. Lord Phobos II or something like that, newer and better than before."_ Phobos let out a mechanical chuckle. " _I love you guys, I'm so glad you're my friends_." His friends all gathered around him for a hug.

"Friends until the end!" Sung said with a smile, enjoying the moment with his closest friends.

 _"TWRP IS NOW 50% MADE UP OF ROBOTS. WATCH YOUR BACK, MEOUCH. YOU'RE NEXT."_ Meouch laughed, and Havve cocked his head to the side and typed some more. " _IT'S UP TO YOU TO DECIDE IF I'M JOKING OR NOT."_ He shrugged his shoulders and gave Meouch a firm pat on the back.

As he broke away from the hug, Phobos turned to Meouch to say, " _And_ _don't worry Meouch, I'd never forget that your name is Jazzlan."_

Meouch laughed and clapped his hand on Phobos' shoulder. "There's the good ol' Lord Phlip Phlop we know and love," Meouch said.

* * *

The process of recovery and repair was not easy for Phobos but Sung reassured him and they found the way forward together. Before long, Phobos had a new robotic body that functioned like a dream. Sung was even able to add new hands made silicone and artificial nerves that were able to regain a sense of touch. He upgraded his vocoder as well, giving Phobos more range of control over pitch and volume. He was faster and stronger than ever, but the most surprising thing the others discovered was how talkative he had become. Maybe it was just in comparison to a decade of not speaking once, but now he could talk for hours and hours on end.

Phobos still struggled to accept his new identity. At times he barely felt like himself at all, he felt like he was just trapped in a mechanical prison. But he knew his friends were right. No matter what physical body he was in, he was still Lord Phobos and that's what mattered. He accepted his new persona as Phobos II, and despite his vow being broken, he knew that he'd continue to honour his people as best he could. Through all of his struggles, Phobos knew he would be okay thanks to his Rock and Roll Best Friends.  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> There it is, I hope you enjoyed it! I wrote this absolute BEHEMOTH over two days and it's the longest work I've written for a while. If you stuck around until the end and read it all, thanks! I appreciate you taking the time to read something I really enjoyed writing! If you picked up on some of the descriptions and the title, I wanted to reference Ghost in a Shell through this work. While I haven't read/watched it all myself, I'm really fascinated by the concept of being nothing but a synthetic being and identity, etc, and I thought I'd be really cool to see that apply to Phobos in this scenario. It also reminds me of the Ship of Theseus. How much of Phobos can you remove before he is no longer Phobos? It's about the struggle of identity, and it's a fun paradox that I thought applied here! I had a lot of fun working out this lore! Once again, I hope you enjoyed my writing! It's currently 1:30 AM and I've been working on this all day, so I'm glad to finally set this free into the world! Xoxo the very tired Honse
> 
> PS: This is in part dedicated to my dingus disaster big sibling Dirt, my Rock and Roll Best Friend and Smooth Jazz Worst Enemy. Love you and miss you, and although Phobos didn’t actually kill you with an Amp in Vancouver 2017, he is welcome to finish the job.


End file.
